RK Singh launches e-certification course on power sector reforms

New Delhi: The Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy RK Singh launched "reform and regulatory knowledge base for the power sector," an e-certification programme to provide regulatory training to the practitioners from diverse backgrounds in New Delhi on Friday, through virtual mode. He also launched a regulatory data dashboard which is an e-compendium of data containing the state-wise details of tariff and DISCOM performance. They have been developed by IIT-Kanpur.

The regulatory data dashboard would assist bench-marking of the sector performance, over time and across the power sector utilities. This would help regulators and policy-makers as well as the entities themselves to identify areas for improvement.

Minister of State for Power Krishan Pal Gurjar, Secretary (Power) Alok Kumar, Secretary MNRE Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi, senior officials from both the ministries, Chairperson and members of Central Electricity Authority (CEA), IIT-Kanpur's Director Abhay Karandikar, representatives from states /UTs, CMDs of Power PSUs and DISCOMs, industry representatives were also present at the occasion.

Speaking at the event, the Power Minister expressed his appreciation for IIT-Kanpur for the initiative. He said that India is preparing itself for the next generation by modernisation, but the process of making our system sustainable is a work in progress. The challenges of energy access and supply have been resolved by establishing capacity generation making us a power surplus nation, he added.

Singh further said that we have established one grid for the country and one unified market for power free from long term PPAs. The steps are being taken for the strengthening of the distribution system. He suggested that let the full cost be reflected in tariff and then the elected governments can provide subsidies based on that.

He emphasized that in the power sector, the regulatory framework is the key to sustainability. Regulators exist to maintain a level playing field and at the same time to protect the rights of the consumers. He urged that there is great scope for standardisation in regulatory framework by research.

Power Minster added that deliberations of  IIT-Kanpur with regulators and states to lay down a protocol for the forum of regulators would be of great service to the power sector. He further urged for research and development in smart metering, AI-based energy accounting and cyber-security.  AI-based energy accounting has been mandated by us, and technologies need to make sense of the big data created from it, he added.

Singh further asked for research and study in green hydrogen to be incorporated in not only the Refining and the Fertiliser industries but in other industries such as steel, glass, ceramics and heavy mobility. He said that transition from fossil fuels to green hydrogen is the need of the hour and green consciousness has already emerged in the industry but technical problems need to be resolved.

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